Often we learn about the disease only when we find out its signs. This also applies to many women's diseases. Diseases of the genitourinary system can frighten your unpleasant symptoms and dangerous consequences. Therefore, you should consult a doctor and start treating them immediately, as soon as you have a suspicion.
Today we will talk about a disease such as urethritis, which can occur in both women and men. Urethritis is an inflammation of the urethra, which arises because of its damage to bacteria or viruses. The reasons for the development of urethritis in women are most often unprotected sex with an infected person, and the carrier of the infection may not even know about it.
Types of urethritis in women
Urethritis can be acute or chronic, as well as infectious or non-infectious. Infectious (or bacterial) urethritis in women, in turn, is gonorrheal, trichomonadal, candida. Also, its pathogens can become streptococci, staphylococci, gardnerelles and even E. coli. Noninfectious urethritis can occur with injuries of the urethral mucosa as a result of medical research; the disease can progress due to congenital narrowing of the urethra, etc.
After infection, it usually takes some time (1 to 5 weeks) - this is the incubation period of the disease. If the patient is not treated, then the disease gradually flows into a chronic form, which is dangerous with its consequences (up to infertility).
Signs of a woman's urethritis
The main symptom of this disease is painful urination. There may be pain, rubbing (especially at the beginning of the process), burning. Also, reddening and even clumping of the outer walls of the urethra can be observed, but this occurs rarely.
In women, the symptoms of urethritis may not appear at all because of a wider opening of the urethra than in men. In addition, it is possible that after an incubation period within 1-2 days, a single symptom is sharply manifested, most often pain when urinating, and the illness itself "purports to pass". However, this is only an appearance: in fact, the bacteria remain in the body, and the disease turns into a chronic form, and this is much worse. If urethritis is not treated for a long time, it can lead to a narrowing of the urethral opening: it again manifests itself with painful sensations and a weak stream of urine. Such a narrowing is treated by an operative route (the so-called channel bougie).
The second significant sign of urethritis is purulent discharge from the urethra (minor or profuse, depending on the form of the disease). Remember: for any such discharge, you should consult a doctor!
Prevention and treatment of urethritis in women
Prevention is the best method of treating any disease as a woman. To prevent urethritis, you should carefully consider the rules of hygiene, including in sexual life, do not neglect the above signals of the body about the
How to treat acute urethritis in women? For this, antibacterial agents are mainly used. Treatment lasts from one to several weeks, depending on the severity and neglect of the disease. Urethritis is treated at home; patients are hospitalized very rarely, only with the development of purulent complications.
As for the chronic form of urethritis in women, immunotherapy (injections of stimulant drugs) and physiotherapeutic treatment, in particular irrigation of the urethra with solutions of furacilin or dioxidine, are added to its treatment.